The fastest growing team sport in the country, pond hockey is as close to the original conception of the game as can be achieved. Then, slowly, as the Palgrave Rotary became involved in donating the basic necessities, it has grown into a civic project, stemming from an almost patriotic love of winter sport. to siphon out water for a smoother surface.

In the beginning, it was only Ken appearing at 2 a.m. There are stories of Ken bringing out his own plow in the wee hours (after waiting for teenagers to leave the ice), or shoveling snow by hand to create a winter scene straight from a Hallmark card, or a seasonal Tim Horton’s coffee cup. It wasn’t a community effort at first, but grew into one as more people started to lace up and hit the ice. It is clearly nothing short of a labour of love that pilots these lonely sojourns on mid-winter nights. Spending up to sixty hours a week from Christmas until mid-March, he tends the rinks, making sure to leave sticks and pucks available, building benches for bystanders, and bringing his own generators for lighting. Motivated by a sincere desire to provide children with a wholesome activity, Ken expends a superhuman effort to make the pond a safe and enjoyable environment. Warmly recalling memories of his childhood in the Gaspé Peninsula, in Palgrave he saw the potential to recreate those moments for a new generation. Ken Hunt started maintaining the Palgrave Millpond ten years ago for his teenage children. Hockey, the great Canadian pastime, does not always require a huge arena and stadium seating.Ĭaledon, on the edge of the Greater Toronto Area, brings the sport of hockey back to its basics in the hinterland. Perhaps more uniquely Canadian is the winter activity for which there is a specially designated area on the Millpond where families and friends can play together.

Drive through Palgrave in mid-January and the Millpond is a homespun scene from the last century, recalling a very Canadian sense of rustic camaraderie with hot chocolate before a warm fire. Each year, Caledon transforms into a winter wonderland.

The Big Dream by Rebecca Rosenblum